Harin Fernando And Malik Samarawickrama Re-appointed With Title Changes Amid PM's Attempt To Appoint Two More Ministers

Minister Harin Fernando and Malik Samarawickrama have been re-appointed with changes to the titles.

Fernando has been re-appointed as the Minister of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports while Samarawickrama has been re-appointed as the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade.

The subject of digital infrastructure has been taken away from Fernando with the latest revision. Samarawickrama has lost the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The development comes in the wake of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's attempt to appoint two more Cabinet ministers. Wickremesinghe, in an interview with a newspaper, said the 19th Amendment to the Consitution allowed a Cabinet of 30 ministers apart from the President and the Prime Minister.

The re-appointment of the two ministers with revised titles have been announced by two gazette notifications by Secretary to the President Udaya R. Seneviratne.

However, the institutions coming under the ministries have not been announced so far, as President Maithripala Siriena is currently overseas on a personal holiday.

Government sources expressed confidence that the Gazette would be issued on Monday or Tuesday.